PMIC - Hot Swap Controllers

PMIC - hot swap controllers are semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs) designed to control and protect the circuits required for components’ insertion and removal to hot swap plug-in boards. These products provide robust control and monitoring functions in various systems, including computer networking and general-purpose power systems. Furthermore, these ICs also comprise distinct ranges of amplifier cores and converters to monitor and control multiple circuits with precise accuracy. In addition, the hot swap controllers offer unmatchable benefits with excellent features. 

Why Use PMIC – Hot Swap Controllers?

• Hot swap controller ICs safeguard a range of circuits from various hazards resulting from power supply abrupt changes. 
• They effectively respond to over- and under-voltage conditions by efficiently opening or closing the switches upon detecting unsafe power conditions. 
• These ICs also come with timers, level shifters, current limiters, and other functions supplied to help respond to different conditions appropriately.

The Key Benefits that Differentiate PMIC - Hot Swap Controllers From Common ICs

Hot swap controller is distinguished from conventional protection devices due to their features, including controlled channel numbers, protection, output current, and other specialised characteristics. They also enable versatile and easy protection programming like auto-retry and reset features after faults and overcurrent thresholds. Additionally, they are differentiated due to their enabled/fault pins that decrease false fault numbers and equipment downtime. 

Types of PMIC – Hot Swap Controller ICs

Hot swap controllers can be classified into the following types.

• Electronic Fuses (eFuses) – Feature a power switch and control logic with plastic encasing; these fuses allow overcurrent and overvoltage protection with programmable soft-start time. These ICs are used as alternatives to traditional fuses and other devices like PTC fuses - resettable. These are suitable for a range of applications in industrial and network hot-swap boards, SSD/HDD arrays, and servers.  
• DC Power Breakers are designed to monitor circuits’ input power continuously, respond during irregular power consumption, and come with customised power limit adjustments. They also optimize the power distribution system’s designs and are used in various home appliances and white goods. 

In addition to the above IC types, other ICs provide maximised protection and configuration flexibility for high-power DC rails. These ICs include programmable controllers and current limiters for MOSFETs (exterior). 

Applications of PMIC – Hot Swap Controllers

Hot-swap power management ICs are widely used:

• To control and monitor electronic loads in network and industrial hot-swap boards and card voltages.
• They also prevent operational faults and damage and are used when line cards need live backplane insertions. 
• In addition, they are also found in various automotive, USB, and general-purpose applications.